Page 16 of The Chemistry of Us

He flipped me around against the wall, then tugged me back against the front of his jeans.

“Yeah, sure feels small now, and I don’t even like you.”

Everything about him felt hateful and possessive, but I couldn’t help it when I shuddered.

His lips touched my ear, sending more chills down my spine. One of his massive hands ran down my bare arms and felt the goose bumps when he added…

“I broke you in, remember?”

CHAPTER 7

TRU

His words haunted me.

Down to the way he said them and the way he proved them over and over again, yet never to my face and always to my back.

The past needed to stay there, but he wielded it like a weapon every damn time, making me so angry I wanted to scream.

I stayed there for a few minutes. His body heat dissipated, the smell of his cologne faded into the air, and I was left staring at a wall, wondering why I was always on the losing end of our fights.

“You okay?” Brady asked, handing me a red Solo cup full of beer.

I nodded my head even though my heart swelled up my throat.

“Yeah, I’m good. I just hate him so much.”

“I’m sure there’s a very detailed story there.” Brady leaned in. “Care to share?”

“Care to leave?” I taunted.

He held a free hand up. “Fine, fine, I have to find my girlfriend anyway. She’ll be sad she missed the drama. Van rarely loses his cool like that. See, brick shitting. Told you so.”

He was gone before I could respond, leaving me alone with my Solo cup full of beer, wondering if I should go back inside.

The decision was made for me when Logan, the guy I’d seen just mauling that girl with his mouth, came up beside me.

“Need a refill?”

I watched Vaughan suck down another drink. He’d never really been that angry sort of guy when I first met him. Then again, pressure has a way of doing that to you.

Family.

Riches.

The other side wasn’t always greener.

“No.” I tipped my cup to his. “Mine’s clearly still full.”

“Maybe chug it.” He crowded my space and backed me up against the same wall I had just been pinned to. “And we can go someplace and talk.”

I burst out laughing; I couldn’t help it. “And by talk, you mean screw? Wow, same old tricks for the dumb jocks. No, I don’t want to go talk, and it’s still quiet out here, so if you have words to say, feel free to say them.”

His blond hair fell across his blue eyes. He was pretty to look at but still didn’t get the point.

“I’d rather”—he took the cup from my fingers—“go someplace private.”

“I’m not interested.”

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